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ACCOR
ACCOR
(1989-1992) was an EEC funded ESPRIT (Basic Research Action) project
which aimed to investigate the articulatory-acoustic correlations of
coarticulatory processes in seven European languages (Catalan, English,
French, German, Italian, Irish Gaelic and Swedish). Eight European
academic institutions and one industrial partner formed the European
consortium.
The project focused on the detailed
investigation of several physiological and acoustic variables of
coarticulation in these languages. Particular emphasis was placed on
the differentiation between the major language independent regularities
of coarticulatory processes and language specific factors such as the
phonological rules of each language.
A unique articulatory and acoustic database was completed as part of
this project. The instrumentation available in the Speech Research
Laboratory at Reading University, UK allowed simultaneous recording,
display and analysis of up to six data acquisition devices. For the
ACCOR project, the following instrumentation was used:
Electropalatograph, electrolaryngograph, pneumotachograph (oral and
nasal airflow monitors), audio recorders.
Research findings were made available in a variety of publications.
SPHERE
SPHERE
(1993-1996) was an EEC funded HMC (Human Capital and Mobility).
Research covered a wide range of areas in the field of speech signal
representations which extended from articulation to perception. The aim
of the project was the training and mobility of researchers in speech
research labs within the EEC. Ten European academic institutions formed
the European consortium.
Research on acoustic
and articulatory variability in connected speech was carried out as
part of the project. The research was based on acoustic and
articulatory data from the ACCOR database and the aim was to emphasise
the importance of adopting a multi-level approach in speech research.
Areas where the articulatory data provide important information on
gestural activity which cannot be adequately recovered from the
acoustic data alone were identified. In addition, major factors that
affect articulatory variability were examined with the technique of
electropalatography. One of the principal aims of this research was to
quantify the extent of normal articulatory variability during speech
production. This is of importance in the development of robust speech
recognition systems and in the assessment and remediation of disordered
speech.
The results of the research were presented in project meetings and in
major international
conferences.
AVHI
Articulatory Variability
in Hearing Impairment
SPECO [INCO-COPERNICUS Project
No. 977126, 1998-2001]
Anna Sfakianaki worked on this EU-funded
research project as a Research Officer at the Department of Linguistic
Science, University of Reading, UK. The project's goal was to build a
multimedia multilingual teaching and training system for speech
handicapped children which was named Box of Tricks (English version).
Box of Tricks is an interactive software package
which converts sound into visual feedback on the computer screen.
Through entertaining exercises a child learns how to control
his/her articulators in order to overcome articulation and speech
production problems in general. Box of Tricks has been especially
designed for children with hearing impairment but is also
recommended for children with other speech problems.
For
more information about the project and a description of Box of Tricks
with
pictures
from the actual
program, click here
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